News and views about the implementation of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act 2009 and other legislation, schemes and policies impacting the Right to Education of India's Children.

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Saturday, March 30, 2013

1.54 lakh applicants for 1.06 lakh seats

The demand for seats in private schools under the 25
per cent quota for children from underprivileged families under the
Right to Education (RTE) Act outstrips the availability of seats across
the State.

As against the availability of 1.06 lakh
seats across Karnataka, 1.54 lakh applications have been submitted for
private school seats under the quota.

This suggests
an increasing demand for private school education, even as Education
Department officials say that a contributing factor is multiple
applications made by parents to several schools.

Of
the 34 educational districts in Karnataka, the number of seats available
in private schools under quota is higher than the applications in only
12. They are Sirsi, Yadgir, Chikkodi, Mysore, Kodagu, Dakshina Kannada,
Uttara Kannada, Dharwad, Gadag, Gulbarga, Bagalkot and Belgaum.

The
gap between demand and availability of seats is strikingly high in some
districts, including Bangalore South, Bangalore North, Bangalore Rural,
Davangere and Bellary. Here, going by the numbers, each seat has two or
more applicants.